Melbourne Racing Club will allow Nathan Tinkler to walk away from his sponsorship of Blue Diamond Stakes

MELBOURNE Racing Club will give Nathan Tinkler the chance to walk away from his "significant'' sponsorship of the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes, fearing non-payment by the embattled tycoon .

The club revealed yesterday Tinkler was contracted to pay up _ but not until after the race at Caulfield on February 23.Tinkler is in the final year of a three-year sponsorship deal for Victoria's premier two-year-old race.

Chairman Mike Symons said the club would have to look at its sponsorship arrangements because Tinkler was not bound to pay until after the event.

"If he does not pay, we'll have to subsidise the race ourselves," Symons said.

"In future, we must look to sponsors paying up before the event, not after it is all over."

Symons said the best scenario would be for the embattled Tinkler to decide now if he wanted to fulfil the final year of his contract.

"If he said he wanted to bail out, we would have a small window of opportunity to find a replacement sponsor," he said. "However, as it stands we're still contracted to Patinack for 2013 and they're not in default (of any debt)."

Club chief executive Al Robertson said: "We have been assured the sponsorship money will be forthcoming, and we must be fair to a man who has put an enormous amount into racing."

The club is already talking to prospective sponsors, given Patinack Farm is unlikely to extend its sponsorship beyond next year.

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